Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

No-homework policy improves home life for younger students at one CPS school
http://www.suntimes.com/news/29822856-418/no-homework-policy-improves-home-life-for-younger-students-at-one-cps-school.html ^

Posted on 09/14/2014 9:08:28 PM PDT by MNDude

To the delight of its families, Hamilton Elementary has replaced homework for kindergartners, first-graders and second-graders this year with PDF — play, downtime and family time — along with lots of reading for fun.

Only a few days into the new year, life is already better, mother Sarah Rothberger said. Not only is there more time for family dinners every night, but evenings now are for playing UNO and Othello, and reading chapters from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “By The Banks of Plum Creek.”

Beyond that, he wondered, why should school dictate what families do, given that families can’t control what happens in schoo “There was a packet every week. It was a challenge at home to get him through a seven-hour day and then consider homework. He really, really hated it, ” Rothberger said. Weekends became all about pushing him to finish his sight words. His teacher believed it was important to start the homework habit.

(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...


TOPICS: Education; Local News
KEYWORDS: news
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

1 posted on 09/14/2014 9:08:28 PM PDT by MNDude
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: MNDude

Ridiculous amounts of homework are one of my pet peeves. My youngest is now in 12th grade and doing 3-4 hours a day. I’m sure glad I grew up in the 60s and 70s...


2 posted on 09/14/2014 9:11:37 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers

Just another way to wrest control of children from their parents.


3 posted on 09/14/2014 9:15:54 PM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers

I was always anti-homework. In grade school I used to say, “I forgot to do it”, and I remember one time my sixth grade teacher called me on that, saying, “You mean you just didn’t do it.” I was like, “Hmmm, yeah, I guess so.” I never thought of it that way, you know? I was totally into the forgetting thing.


4 posted on 09/14/2014 9:19:27 PM PDT by dr_lew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: dr_lew

my nephew had math homework. He would type the problem on the school IPAD and it would tell him the answer.

seriously

What is he learning exactly?


5 posted on 09/14/2014 9:23:59 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: GeronL

Resourcefulness?


6 posted on 09/14/2014 9:27:05 PM PDT by dr_lew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: MNDude

They were sending KINDERGARTNER’S home with homework??! Oh, Good Lord. Idiots.


7 posted on 09/14/2014 9:27:06 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers

I have 2 seniors. I hate homework! I will be glad when they are done with school.


8 posted on 09/14/2014 9:28:31 PM PDT by luckystarmom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers
Ridiculous amounts of homework are one of my pet peeves. My youngest is now in 12th grade and doing 3-4 hours a day. I’m sure glad I grew up in the 60s and 70s...

And, for all the hours of homework, I don't believe that today's children are better educated. When I was in elementary school, homework was studying for spelling tests and writing book reports, with an occasional mimeographed math worksheet. "Real" homework didn't start until middle school, but it wasn't anything like the amount of homework my kids had. Of course, back then, teachers spent the days actually teaching the various academic subjects. We didn't have any of the social issues type of units that kids are subjected to today.

9 posted on 09/14/2014 9:36:01 PM PDT by Kipp
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: MNDude
Schools have kids for 7-8 hours a day. That's pretty much a full work day. There is no need for even high school kids to come home and have to do homework. What the heck did they study for 7 hours?

Homework should be a once or twice per semester event just to teach the concept of putting in extra time to accomplish a goal.

10 posted on 09/14/2014 9:41:04 PM PDT by precisionshootist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kipp
With all this onerous "homework", how come kids aren't doing better on standardized tests?

What the hell are they doing during class hours?

I mean in between teachers having sex with them in the parking lot?

11 posted on 09/14/2014 9:43:43 PM PDT by boop (I just wanted a President. But I got a rock.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: MNDude
sight words... GRRRRRRRRR DAMN this whole word reading crap!!!
12 posted on 09/14/2014 9:44:09 PM PDT by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -vvv- NO Pity for the LAZY - 86-44)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MNDude
All teachers, students, and parents should read the book "Brain Rules". An excellent study on how the brain develops and works, and how it develops and works best.

Example: Lectures should be done at home, and practice (homework) should be done at school under supervision by the teachers.

"Recess" and Physical Education should take place twice a day to keep the body moving.

Anyhow, short excerpts from a great read.

13 posted on 09/14/2014 10:06:56 PM PDT by onona (Why do I read those headlines ?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: onona

Bottom line regardless: Home School if at all possible


14 posted on 09/14/2014 10:07:47 PM PDT by onona (Why do I read those headlines ?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: MNDude
Weekends became all about pushing him to finish his sight words.

yuck... we did exactly zero sight words in our homeschool... all reading was taught phonetically... seemed easier...

15 posted on 09/14/2014 10:11:41 PM PDT by latina4dubya
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: boop
What the hell are they doing during class hours?

for the first few years of school, i get it... they ought to be able to do most work during class time... in the upper grades, the classes seem so short... an hour or just under? that seems like such amount of time to teach and do work...

16 posted on 09/14/2014 10:14:18 PM PDT by latina4dubya
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: MNDude

These kids shouldn’t have to do homework. After all, they need to be out shooting each other and stealing swisher sweets from convenience stores while pushing around the store clerk. Homework be racist!


17 posted on 09/14/2014 10:29:14 PM PDT by Veggie Todd (The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. TJ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MNDude

18 posted on 09/14/2014 10:41:02 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: latina4dubya

I used to ask myself that question...what are they doing in classrooms? How is it that a 4th grader can have 3 months of unfinished papers in her desk? What is the teacher doing that kids don’t finish class work?

I lived in a very, VERY rural area. The bus ride to school was 2 hours and the ride home was 2 hours. they caught the bus between 5 and 6 AM and they didn’t get home till 6 PM. When the older ones had extracurricular activities, I had to drive the 40 miles to town to pick them up because they often came in after the activity bus ran back up to our area. That means my kid didn’t get home till midnight or 1 am, had to do homework, and get up at 4:30 in the morning.

Guess what I didn’t do? I didn’t push the homework.

The district decided that the kids would go to school 4 days per week, for longer days, and be off for Friday and the weekend.
They didn’t care that the rural kids were only getting 4-5 hours of sleep at a time.

It also meant that the weekends weren’t theirs either. They had to spend the entire weekend with additional home work. During the winter months, they couldn’t even go outside and play for an hour after school before doing homework. By the time they got home and ate dinner, there wasn’t any time for homework. I let them do 30 minutes worth and that’s it. They could pick which subject, but I was not going to allow these kids to stay up all night doing homework.

The teachers just didn’t want to hear what these kids were going through. It’s not even a healthy work ethic to put in those kinds of hours. There has to be a healthy balance between sleep, work, and play(family time) whether you are an adult or a child.

I did end up homeschooling the youngest which was an excellent decision, and one that I never regretted. He caught up 2 grade levels in just a couple of months, and I didn’t work him all that hard. And that’s why I had to ask....what is going on in that classroom because they were not learning much, at all. The kids were all 2 years behind eastern schools...I could see why after home schooling.

I worked my boy 3-4 hours per day and he learned double in that time than his classmates were learning. He was off when school was out. His confidence rose like crazy and he exclaimed with delight one day...”Mom, YOU are the best teacher I’ve ever had!” That was a proud moment. I’m so glad I took the time for him. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t exactly hard, either. We just learned to work together as a team and that was wonderful.

If I had to do it today, no child of mine would go to a public school. I wouldn’t want to be robbed of the joy of relationship with my children. You get to know them at a totally different and exciting level when you homeschool.

Learning should be a life-long joy and pleasure. It shouldn’t be dreaded.


19 posted on 09/14/2014 10:52:46 PM PDT by PrairieLady2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: MNDude

Huh, I finished highschool in 1990 and always did my homework within an hour once I got home.

I doubt todays families spend family time together. Parents are too into themselves and their love lives to parent their child in the evenings.
Teens/children are on the internet and watching the Kardashians. Homework would be an improvement over that low info entertainment.


20 posted on 09/14/2014 11:19:32 PM PDT by RginTN
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson